Apparatus for applying abrasive to buffing wheels



fiept. 25, 1956 N. c. ANDERSEN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING ABRASIVE TO BUFFING WHEELS Filed May 29, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1:

JNVENTOR. fiN/ELS c. ANDEESEN M 2 5 Z 0 m mm y A W W M 3 M Sept. 25, 1956 N. c. ANDERSEN APPARATUS FOR APPLYING ABRASIVE TO BUFFING WHEELS Filed May 29, 1955 MAX. 0/4. We IPOL an M105 Sept. 25, 1956 N. c. ANDERSEN 2,763,971

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING ABRASIVE TO BUFFING WHEELS Filed May 29, 1953 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MAX. D/A

MJMH L i l l INVEN TOR.

N! 51.5 1:. ANDEESEN United States Patent APPARATUS FOR APPLYING ABRASIVE TO BUFFING WHEELS Niels C. Andersen, Burlingame, Califi, assignor to Schlage Lock Company, a corporation Application May 29, 1953, Serial No. 358,331 8 Claims. (Cl. 51-263) This invention relates to the art of bufling and more particularly to a device for applying abrasive such as tripoli or rouge to a rotating bufling wheel which, in turn, is applied at high speed to the articles to be bulfed.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to buff and polish articles by arranging such articles on a suitable conveyor means and feeding them past a buifing wheel rotating at a very high speed so that the flexible buffing elements of said wheel engage the surface to be bulfed;

In order to achieve an effective bufiing action, it is necessary to apply a fine abrasive, such as tripoli, to the bulfing wheel. Such application of abrasive is prefera bly done intermittently, as the wheel may be rotated for a period of time while in engagement with the articles before the buffing material is used up. In this description, it will be assumed that tripoli is employed although it will be apparent that the invention is applicable, to other types of abrasive such as rouge.

Heretofore tripoli has been provided in the form of elongated bars of rectangular cross section andsuch bars have been fed, either manually or automatically, into engagement with the butfing wheel. Tripoli, being a frangible material, tends to break up so that much of the material is lost and is not. deposited on the buffing whee]. Aside from the expense of such" unusued material, the same creates a messy condition around the bufling machine and necessitates frequent attention, either to replace the used bars or to adjust partially used bars so as to engage the buffing wheel as desired.

Because of its tendency to break up, the tripoli must be handled carefully at all times and in many instances the bars break during handling, resulting, not. only in increased materials cost, but in inconvenience and loss of the operators time.

Attempts have been made in the past to spray the tripoli on the bufiing wheel, but obviously this procedure is also messy and has other disadvantages not pertinent here.

The main object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the disadvantages of prior methods and apparatus for applying tripoli and the like to bufiing wheels.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for automatically applying tripoli to a buffing wheel and which apparatus resultsin a minimum expenditure of time and eifort by the operator.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for applying tripoli to a buffing wheel in a manner which results in a minimum Waste of the tripoli and an improvement in the cleanliness of the area surrounding the bufiing operation;

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a body of tripoli having a novel shape which effectively lends itself to engagement with a bulfing wheel so as to result in economical use of the tripoli and to insure proper transfer of the tripoli to the bufiing elements of the buffing wheel.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for applying tripoli to a bufling wheel so that 2,763,971 Patented Sept. 25, 1956 2 the tripoli may be easily and speedily replaced asthe same becomes worn.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for applying tripoli to a buffing wheel intermittently so as to provide sufiicient tripoli on the bufllng wheel to achieve an efiective bufiing action and at; the same time prevent overloading of the wheel.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings.

Fig. 1 is an end elevational' view of the driving end of the invention with portions broken away and in section to show internal structure.

Fig. 2 is atop planview of the apparatus with portions broken away and in section to'show internal structure.

Fig. 3' is a horizontal cross sectional view of the'drive housing approximately as taken along lines 33= of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4- is a vertical cross sectional view through the central plane of the drive housing. showing the internal mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view as taken along lines 5-5' of Fig. 2 of one side: of the drive housing showing the ratchet mechanism for indexing the tripoli cylinder.

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross sectional view through the means for. supporting the tripoli cylinder showing the quick detachable device for the cylinder at one end thereof.

Fig. 7. is a view similar to Fig: 6 showing the quick detachable device at the opposite. end of the cylinder.

Fig. 8 is a semi-schematic, cross sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 indicating the range of operation of the applicator and showing the: device in full. line in engagement with the buffingi wheel.

ln detail, theinvention is adapted for use in conjunction with a buifing wheel, schematically designated; 1 (Figs. 1, 8) which in turn is driven at a relatively high speed of rotation with its periphery in buifing engagement with the articles to be buffed. It will berunderstood that the particular manner in which the invention is mounted will depend upon: the disposition of the. bufling wheel which itserves and the latter may be disposed at any desired angle.

Assuming the buifing Wheel is mounted withits axis horizontal, as. indicated in Figs. 1, 8, the invention may be secured to a pair of horizontally spaced supports 5, 6 which in turn may be carried by any suitable structure (Figs. 1, 2).

Adjacent one end of the device is a vertically disposed plate 7 which may be fixedly secured to support 5 in any convenient manner (Figs. 1, 2). Horizontally spaced from plate 7 is another vertical plate 8 (Fig. 2), and eX- tending betweenplates 7 and 8 is a shaft 10 (Figs. 1, 2) which is. rotatably supported adjacent its opposite ends in said plates (Fig. 2).

Intermediate the ends of shaft 10, is a generally vertically extending drive housing; generally designated 11 (Figs. 1, 2, 4) within which a. substantial: portion of the driving apparatus is mounted. Housing 11 is centrally split so as to provide two substantially similar halves 12, 13 (Fig. 2) which are rotatably supported at their lower ends as a unit on shaft 10.

Mounted on the upper end of housing 11 is a conventional air motor generally designated 15 (Fig. 1) which is provided with an. air inlet to which a flexible air line 16 is secured in the usual manner. As best seen in Figs. 2, 4, the driven shaft 17 of. air motor 15 is integrally provided with a worm 18 which extends inwardly of the housing 11 and in the central plane of the latter and meshes with a worm. wheel 19- carried by a shaft 20 extending tram..- versely of the housing 11. Shaft20 is rotatably supported at its opposite ends in bearings 21, 22 (Fig. 2) which are provided in halves 12, 13 respectively of housing 11. Shaft projects outwardly at its opposite ends from housing 11, and at its end adjacent half 13 it is formed to a square cross section to receive a complementarily formed opening in one end of a relatively short crank arm 23 (Figs. 1, 2). The other end of crank arm 23 is pivotally connected by pin 24 to one end of a relatively long link 25 which in turn is pivoted by pin 26 to the upper end of the fixed plate 7.

From the structure thus far described, it will be apparent that, upon rotation of the driven shaft 17 of air motor 15, the housing 11 will continuously oscillate about the axis of shaft 10 with an amplitude proportional to the length of crank 23. In this connection, it will be understood that any other power means may be employed, but an air motor has the advantage of cleanliness which is desirable in this type of operation. In addition a flexible connection to the oscillating housing 11 is readily achieved.

Positioned below the driven shaft 17 of air motor 15 and parallel thereto is another shaft 28 (Fig. 4) which is also disposed in the central plane of housing 11. This shaft 28 is rotatably supported in bearings 29, 30 and is provided with a worm 31 which is in mesh, along its lower side with a worm gear 32 keyed to shaft 10 by key 33.

During oscillation of housing 11, it will be apparent, by virtue of the direct connection of the teeth on worm 31 and gear 32, that the shaft 10 will also oscillate with the same frequency and angular amplitude of housing 11. However, in this'connection it should be understood that the two halves of housing 11 are rotatable on shaft 10 for a purpose to be subsequently described. The oscillation of shaft 10 is employed to swing the tripoli cylinder toward and away from the bufling wheel in a manner which will now be described.

Shaft 10 extends through fixed plate 7 in which it is rotatable and is provided with a squared end which is received in a complementarily formed hole in one end of an elongated arm 35. Similarly, the opposite end of shaft 10 is squared to received one end of another similar arm 36.

Supported between the opposite ends of arms 35, 36, in a manner to be described, is a cylindrical body 37 of tripoli. Thus, due to the oscillatory motion of shaft 10, the cylinder of tripoli is continuously swung toward and away from the buffing wheel 1. Of course, the apparatus is positioned relative to said buffing wheel so that it en gages the same only at one end of the oscillation.

During the oscillation of the tripoli cylinder 37, it is desirable to rotate the same a slight amount on its axis so as to present a different surface to the buffing wheel for each oscillation. To this end, the extremity of shaft 10 which is adjacent arm is formed to a circular cross section for rotatably receiving a gear 40 (Figs. 1, 2). Gear 40 is in mesh with another gear 41 rotatably mounted on arm 35 by means of a journal 42 and gear 41 is in mesh with still another gear 43 adjacent the end of arm 35 which supports the tripoli cylinder 37.

Gear 43 is secured to the journal portion 44 of a trunnion 45 (Figs. 2, 6) which is rotatably supported at points on opposite sides of gear 43. On the inner side of gear 43 the journal 44 is rotatably received in a sleeve bearing 46 carried by arm 35 and at the outer side of gear 43 said portion is received in a bearing 47 carried by one end of a supporting bracket 48, which in turn, is fastened at its other end as by bolts 49 to the arm 35.

Tunnion 45 is provided with an axially inwardly opening recess or socket 50 which is adapted to receive the approximately squared end of a plug 51, which, in turn is received in one end of a tubular sleeve 52 of rectangular cross section to which the cylindrical body of tripoli is integrally fixed.

At the other end of sleeve 52 a plug 53 similar to plug 51 is provided, but in this case the plug 53 is formed with a journal portion 54 rotatably supported in a bearing 119, which in turn is secured to arm 36.

For the purpose of rotating the tripoli supporting sleeve 52, the gear 40 which is carried by shaft 10 is provided with a ratchet wheel 55 which may be integral with gear 40 or fixedly secured thereto in any desired manner (Figs. 1, 2).

Cooperating with the teeth of ratchet wheel 55 at one side of the latter is a pawl 56 which is pivotally secured to plate 7 by pin 57. A spacer 58 of any desired shape may be interposed between plate 7 and pawl 56 to properly position pawl 56 in the plane of ratchet wheel 55. A

somewhat similar pawl 59 is carried by the oscillating arm 35 on the opposite side of ratchet wheel 55 so as to hold gear 40 with arm 35 when the latter swings counterclockwise (Fig. 1). Upon clockwise swinging of arm 35, pawl 56 drives gear 40 so that the effective rotation of gear 40 is counterclockwise (Fig. 1.).

Thus the above described structure results in the cylindrical body 37 of tripoli being rotated or indexed a slight amount in the direction indicated in Fig. l for each oscillation of arms 35, 36. By proper positioning of pawls 56, 59 and by suitable selection of the diameter of ratchet wheel 55 is will be obvious that a gear train such as 40, 41 and 43 still cause a positive indexing of the tripoli cylinder for each oscillation, and this result is desirable as the body of tripoli thereby tends to maintain its circular cross section as it wears down.

Inasmuch as the tripoli cylinder continually wears away during the buffing action, it is necessary to continuously feed the tripoli toward the buffing wheel during the above described motions in order to obtain a completely automatic action. The means for achieving this feeding action will now be described.

Referring again to shaft 20 in housing 11, the end of said shaft which is opposite the end carrying crank 23, hereinbefore described, is secured to one end of a crank 60 (Figs. 2, 5). The other end of crank 60 is preferably enlarged and is provided with a slot 61 of 'T-shaped cross section for receiving the head of a bolt 62 (Fig. 5). Pivotally secured to the shank of bolt 62 is the upper end of a generally vertically extending link 63. A nut 64 is provided on bolt 62 for tightening the latter relative to crank 60 so that the effective swing of the crank, insofar as the action of link 63 is concerned, may be varied as desired by moving bolt 62 to diiferent distances along the length of crank 60 and tightening nut 64. To permit the link 63 to pivot on the shank of bolt 62 without undue friction a spool 65 is provided on said shank for receiving the link 63.

The lower end of link 63 is pivotally secured by pin between a pair of upstanding ears 68, 69 at one end of another crank generaly designated 71 (Fig. 5). Crank 71 is rotatab'ly secured at its opposite end on a bearing 72 (Fig. 3) which extends transversely into housing 11 and which rotatably supportsone end of a shaft 73 (Fig. 4). I

This shaft 73 is provided with a portion of square cross section to receive a ratchet wheel 74 adapted to be rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 5) upon reciprocation of link 63. For achieving such rotation a pawl 75 is provided having a tooth 76 adapted to engage the teeth of ratchet wheel 74. Pawl 75 is slidably supported in a housing 77 integral with crank '71 and is urged radially inwardly of the ratchet wheel 74 by a helical compression spring 78 (Fig. 5). To hold pawl 75 against rotation in housing 77, a projection 79 may be provided on said pawl cooperating with a slot 80 in said housing.

From the above described structure, it is apparent, upon rotation of shaft 20, the crank 71 oscillates so as to index ratchet wheel 74 one or more teeth by the action of pawl 75. The result of this action is to turn shaft '73 a few degrees for each rotation of the relatively faster shaft 20.

Shaft 73 is provided with a worm 82 (Fig. 4) which weasel in turn meshes with a worm wheel 83 mounted on the shaft 28 hereinbefore described. Inasmuch .as the oscillation of the relatively large main shaft is accomplished through the engagement of worm 31 on shaft 28 and worm wheel 32 on shaft 10, it will be apparent that the slight angular movement of shaft 28 produced by the coaction of worm 82 and worm wheel 83 will cause the shaft 10 to turn in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 1, 4) despite the fact that it is oscillating at the same time. This very minute angular movement of shaft 10 results in the tripoli cylinder being fed gradual- .ly toward the butfing wheel at all times so as to compensate for wear of the abrasive.

Referring again to Fig. 5, it is seen that adjustment of the feed may be readily accomplished by moving bolt 62 along the length of the slot 61 so as to change the number of teeth through which the worm wheel 74 is rotated by pawl 75.

At this point, it may be noted that the tripoli cylinder 37 has three distinct movements. First, the cylinder swings about the axis of shaft 10 toward and away from the bufling wheel 1; this motion is produced by the action of link and crank 23. Second, the tripoli cylinder rotates a slight amount about its own axis so as to present a slightly different surface to the bufling wheel for each oscillation of the cylinder; this motion is produced by the action of ratchet wheel 55, pawls 56, 59 and gear train 40, 41, 43. Third, the tripoli cylinder is fed a minute amount toward the bufiing wheel by swinging the same slightly about the axes of shaft 10 in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 1); this action is accomplished by the worm 31 on shaft 23 coacting with the worm wheel 32 and is regulated by the coaction between pawl 75 and worm wheel 74.

When it is desired to swing arms 35, 36 upwardly away from the butting wheel when a new tripoli cylinder is to be inserted, it is desirable to provide a fast means for so doing rather than to reverse the direction of rotation of shaft 73. In addition, it is desirable, in general, to provide manual means for adjusting the degree of angularity of arms 35, 36 if required.

To this end there is preferably provided a clutch gen erally designated 85 on shaft 28 (Fig. 4). This clutch comprises a driving member 86 formed integral with worm wheel 03 which is rotatable on shaft 28 and a driven member 37 which is axially slidable on a squared section 88 of shaft 28. Member 87 extends outwardly of housing 11 in slidable engagement therewith and is provided with an annular slot 89 in which is received the complementarily formed yoke end 92 of an operating lever 90.

Lever is swingably secured at a point intermediate its ends to a pair of cars 91 carried by housing 11 and is engaged at its end opposite the yoke end 92 by a sleeve 93 having a closed end 97. Sleeve 93 is slidably received in a complementarily formed bore 94 in housing 11 and is urged outwardly of said housing by a helical compression spring 95 (Fig. 4).

By this structure, it is seen that clutch 85 is yieldably urged to engaged position at all times and may be disengaged by the operator when desired merely by swinging operating lever 90 against the yieldable resistance of spring 35.

Shaft 28 extends outwardly of housing 11 beyond clutch member 87 and is provided at its outer end with a hand crank 36.

When it is desired to swing the tripoli cylinder manually in either direction, the operator merely swings lever 90 to disengage clutch and rotates hand crank 96. In this manner, shaft 73 is disconnected along with ratchet wheel '74 and link 63.

By the above described structure, it will be noted that the tripoli cylinder 37 may be rapidly swung manually in either direction about the axis of shaft 10. In

6 .jaddition, the irreversible connection between worm 82 and worm wheel 33 is by-passed.

In Fig. 8, there is shown, schematically, the range .of the particular embodiment of the invention hereinbefore described. It will be noted that the feed of tripoli cylinder may be predetermined not only to allow for the wearing away of the abrasive, but also to allow for the reduction in diameter of the buffing wheel due to wear.

When the tripoli cylinder has been reduced in diameter to a predetermnied point it may be replaced by another one in which case the arms 35, 36 are swung upwardly in the manner above described.

To facilitate insertion of a new tripoli cylinder, a quick detachable means is provided and the same will now be described.

Referring to Figs. 2, 6, the trunnion 45 which supports the driven end of the cylinder 37, in addition to being rotatably supported in bearings 46, 47 as above described is also supported in a split bearing generally designated and illustrated in Fig. 6.

This bearing 100 comprises upper and lower halves 101, 102 respectively. Lower half 102 is securely fastened to arm 35 by means of bolts 103 which pass through holes 104 and are received in said arm. Holes 104 may be elongated as indicated in Fig. 6 so as to provide for a slight adjustment during assembly.

Upper half 101 of bearing 100 is swingably supported at one end by bolt 105 also received in arm 35. Upper and lower halves 101, 102 of bearing 100 are substantially semicircular and are provided along their inner sides wtih strips 106, 107 respectively of brake material or the like.

Fitted between the substantially semicircular surfaces defined by strips 106, 107 is a section 103 of trunnion 45 hereinbefore referred to. This section 108 has a substantially circular periphery but is provided with a relatively large, radially outwardly opening generally rectangular slot or socket 50 which receives a complementarily formed head 110 on plug 51 hereinbefore referred to.

As best seen in Fig. 6, the section 103 of trunnion 45 and the head 110 of plug 51 jointly fit within the substantially circular space between the strips 106, 107 of the hearing halves 101, 102. Upon rotation of trunnion 45 by gear 43 the section 108 and head 110 rotate as a unit with their circular peripheries in engagement with the radially inwardly directed surfaces of strips 106, 107. Said strips 106, 107 are of predetermined thickness so as to lightly engage section 108 and head 110 and offer some resistance to rotation of trunnion 4 5. in this manner, there is no tendency for the tripoli cylinder to reverse the direction of gears 40, 41, 43 and said cylinder does not rotate unless positively driven by gear 43.

The upper and lower halves 101, 102 of bearing 100 are releasably secured together at the side opposite pivot pin 105' by a pair of spaced generally vertically extending links 111, 112 which are ,pivotally secured to the lower half 102 by a pin 113.

The upper ends of links 111, 112 straddle and are piv- ,otally secured to a handle member 114 by means of a pin 115. Handle 114 is provided with a generally downwardly directed rounded point 116 which fits in a complementarily formed recess 117 in the lower bearing half 102.

The line of action between recess 117 and pin is predetermined with respect to the line of action between pins 113 and 115 so that any tendency for handle 114 to rotate counterclockwise (Fig. 6) is positively prevented. However, when it is desired to separate the bearing halves 101, 102, it is merely necessary for the operator to force the handle counterclockwise so that the same is released from recess 117 and permit the links 1.11, 112 to hang vertically downwardly from pin 113. If the tripoli cylinder 37 has previously been rotated so that head 110 of plug 51 is in the position shown in Fig. 6, the said head may be raised vertically out of slot 109 in section 108 after the upper bearing half 101 has been swung out of the way.

At the opposite end of tripoli cylinder 37 is another split bearing 119 hereinbefore referred to. This bearing 119 is similar in operation to bearing 1%, but is much simpler inasmuch as the upper and lower halves 120, 121 respectively rotatably support the journal portion 54 of plug 53.

The lower bearing half 121 is secured by pins 122 to the tripoli support arm 36 so that the upper half 1243, which is normally secured to the lower half 121 by handle 123 and links 124, may be swung out of the way when the cylinder 37 is removed with plug 53.

It will be apparent that this structure permits a worn tripoli cylinder to be quickly removed and replaced by another. There are no tools required which might otherwise get lost and hold up the butfing operation.

It is extremely important to note that the cylindrical shape of the tripoli cylinder gives the body of abrasive a resistance to breakage which it might not otherwise have if sharp corners were present to be engaged by the rapidly rotating bufiing wheel. Such sharp corners substantially increase the likelihood of breakage of the frangible abrasive resulting in a waste of material and a slowing down of the buffing operation. The present invention therefore includes the novel form of abrasive body herein disclosed.

In addition, the particular shape of the tripoli body herein described permits the use of a substantially greater amount of tripoli than is possible by use of bars, thereby greatly lengthening the intervals between replacements.

The means herein described for mounting, oscillating, feeding and rotating the tripoli body permits the most efficient use of the tripoli body and greatly reduces the attention required by the operator.

It will be understood that the very detailed description of the invention herein disclosed is not to be taken as restrictive thereof, but merely the preferred form. It will be obvious that various changes in design may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating buifing wheel, a body of soft, friable buffing material in the shape of a solid of revolution, a pair of supporting members supporting said body at opposite ends of its axis of revolution, said body being formed at said opposite ends to partially receive said members therein with the latter projecting oppositely outwardly therefrom, and means supporting said members for rotation about said axis with said body, said means being provided with removable portions to permit removal of said body with said members from said means in a direction radially outwardly of said axis.

2. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating bufiing wheel comprising a support for holding a body of said abrasive alongside said wheel, means for oscillating said support toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging said wheel with said body and means for gradually feeding said body toward said Wheel during said oscillation, said oscillating means comprising a rotatable shaft on which said support is mounted and having an axis about which said support oscillates, a housing rotatably received on said shaft, a first gear rotatably supported in said housing and a second gear fixedly secured to said shaft and in mesh with said first gear, and means for oscillating said housing with said shaft for so oscillating said support and said body.

3. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating bufling wheel comprising a support for holding a body of said abrasive alongside said wheel, means for oscillating said support toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging said wheel with said body and means for gradually feeding said body toward said wheel during said oscillation, said oscillating means comprising a rotatable shaft on which said support is mounted and having an axis about which said support oscillates, a housing rotatably received on said shaft, a first gear rotatably supported in said housing and a second gear fixedly secured to said shaft and in mesh with said first gear, and means for oscillating said housing with said shaft for so oscillating said support and said body, means for rotating said first gear a predetermined amount for each oscillation of said housing whereby said second gear is rotated about said axis for swinging said shaft and said support a slight amount in a direction toward said buffing wheel for each oscillation of said support.

4. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating buffing wheel comprising a support for holding a body of said abrasive alongside said wheel, means for oscillating said support toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging said wheel with said body and means for gradually feeding said body toward said wheel during said oscillation, said oscillating means comprising a rotatable shaft on which said support is mounted and having an axis about which said support oscillates, a housing rotatably received on said shaft, a first gear rotatably supported in said housing and a second gear fixedly secured to said shaft and in mesh with said first gear, and means for oscillating said housing with said shaft for so oscillating said support and said body, means actuated by oscillation of said support for rotating said body about an axis through said body for each oscillation of the latter.

5. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating bufi'lng wheel comprising a generally cylindrical body of abrasive, a pair of parallel arms for supporting said body at one of the corresponding ends of said arms With the central axis of said body substantially parallel to the axis of said wheel, a rotatably supported shaft fixedly secured at spaced points along its length to the opposite corresponding ends of said arms for swingably mounting said arms for movement of said body in an are about the central axis of said shaft, a housing rotatably supported on said shaft, interengaging means on said shaft and said housing respectively and connecting the same for oscillation as a unit about the axis of said shaft, power means for oscillating said housing about the axis of said shaft whereby said body is oscillated toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging the latter and applying abrasive thereto.

6. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating buffing wheel comprising a generally cylindrical body of abrasive, a pair of parallel arms for supporting said body at one of the corresponding ends of said arms with the central axis of said body substantially parallel to the axis of said wheel, a rotatably supported shaft fixedly secured at spaced points along its length to the opposite corresponding ends of said arms for swingably mounting said arms for movement of said body in an are about the central axis of said shaft, a housing rotatably supported on said shaft, interengaging means on said shaft and said housing respectively and connecting the same for oscillation as a unit about the axis of said shaft, power means for oscillating said housing about the axis of said shaft whereby said body is oscillated toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging the'latter and applying abrasive thereto, said interengaging means comprising a first gear rotatably supported in said housing and a second gear fixedly secured to said shaft and in mesh with said first gear, means for rotating said first gear whereby said shaft is rotated relative to said housing for feeding said body toward or away from said wheel depending upon the direction of rotation of said first gear.

7. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating buffing wheel comprising a generally cylindrical body of abrasive, a pair of parallel arms for supporting said body at one of the corresponding ends of said arms with the central axis of said body substantially parallel to the axis of said wheel, a rotatably supported shaft fixedly secured at spaced points along its length to the opposite corresponding ends of said arms for swingably mounting said arms for movement of said body in an are about the central axis of said shaft, a housing rotatably supported on said shaft, interengaging means on said shaft and said housing respectively and connecting the same for oscillation as a unit about the axis of said shaft, power means for oscillating said housing about the axis of said shaft whereby said body is oscillated toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging the latter and applying abrasive thereto, said interengaging means comprising a first gear rotatably supported in said housing and a second gear fixedly secured to said shaft and in mesh with said first gear, means for rotating said first gear whereby said shaft is rotated relative to said housing for feeding said body toward or away from said wheel depending upon the direction of rotation of said first gear, said means for rotating said first gear being operatively connected with said power means, and clutch means for disconnecting said power means to permit manual feeding of said body.

8. An applicator for applying abrasive to a rotating bufiing wheel comprising a generally cylindrical body of abrasive, a pair of parallel arms for supporting said body at one of the corresponding ends of said arms with the central axis of said body substantially parallel to the axis of said wheel, a rotatably supported shaft fixedly secured at spaced points along its length to the opposite corresponding ends of said arms for swingably mounting said arms for movement of said body in an arc about the central axis of said shaft, a housing rotatably supported on said shaft, interengaging means on said shaft and said housing respectively and connecting the same for oscillation as a unit about the axis of said shaft, power means for oscillating said housing about the axis of said shaft whereby said body is oscillated toward and away from said wheel for intermittently engaging the latter and applying abrasive thereto, said body being supported on said arms for rotation about its central axis, turning means actuated by oscillation of said arms for rotating said body through less than a revolution for each oscillation of said arms.

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